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The price of agricultural land dropped by 6% last year, according to the latest review from the Society of Chartered Surveyors and Teagasc. The average price for an acre of land nationally was €8,823 in 2019, down from €9,346 in 2018. Munster recorded the biggest yearly fall in selling price at 9%, while selling prices…

The price of a litre of fuel has fallen significantly in recent weeks. However, with personal movement restricted to within a two kilometre radius of everyone’s home, the benefit of the price reduction is not being felt by many, other than those who need to carry out essential work. Why are prices falling and how…

The National Treasury Management Agency today completed an auction of Irish Treasury Bills, selling the target amount of €750m.  The NTMA said that total bids received for the Treasury Bills amounted to €2.305 billion which was over three times the amount on offer.  The Treasury Bills, which have a maturity of six months, were sold…

Energy consumption in family homes is up between 11% and 20% as more people stay at home, according to a study from energy company Pinergy and property group Savills.  The new study highlights the impact that the latest Covid-19 restrictions are having on changing patterns of energy consumption in the home. The study found that…

A new report from stockbrokers Davy said that while the outbreak of Covid-19 presents significant challenges, Ireland’s economy should prove to be far more resilient relative to the rest of Europe than it did in the last downturn.  The stockbrokers noted that recent years have been characterised by a lack of credit demand, mainly due to…

Consumer sentiment suffered its largest monthly drop on record in April, a survey showed today, demonstrating the scale and speed of the economic collapse unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic.  Restaurants, bars and non-essential retail outlets have been closed in stay-at-home restrictions put in place on March 29.  These restrictions are due to run until at…

The country’s five retail banks may extend loan repayment breaks to help homeowners cope with the impact of the coronavirus to six months from the three months currently in place, the head of their representative body has said.  The banks agreed the measure in the middle of last month and had granted or were close…

Former IMF deputy director general Donal Donovan said he believes it is possible for a “fairly quick rebound” once the coronavirus crisis passes and confidence returns to the Irish economy.  Mr Donavan said that this crisis is quite unlike the situation in 2008/2009, when banks went bust, the construction industry collapsed and there was huge…

The International Monetary Fund has announced immediate debt relief for 25 poor countries to help them free up funds to fight the coronavirus pandemic. “This provides grants to our poorest and most vulnerable members to cover their IMF debt obligations for an initial phase over the next six months and will help them channel more…

More than 45,000 mortgage payment breaks have been or are about to be given to borrowers suffering financial difficulty as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) this represents approximately 5% of the total mortgage market here. The initiative is being operated by all five of the…